Living the van life and becoming a carbon-neutral digital nomad; is the journey Jan van den Berg will take. Jan is currently studying IT. Currently in the last year of his studies: ’embedded systems & automation.’ He is fascinated by domestic robots in health care and intelligent things in your home—for instance, the Ring doorbell. Jan truly wants to do something good for the human race. For example, extend human life with domotics or make it better.
Living in a van has been the dream for Jan for a long time. His life goal is to get around the world, starting with Europe, give a shelter dog a good life, and inspire people to do the same.
I will let the road guide me to where I need to be
Jan van den Berg
Living the van life started with a joke in GTA where Jan made jokes about his first car. He loved to ride around in a van and made fun of it with his friends. After a while, Jan became quite interested in van life and started to do more research. As Jan said, he likes to travel, see a lot and explore.
As the conversation continued, Jan said that he always wanted to do something with his life. For instance, inspire people to be better for the world. Luckily, his job as a programmer makes it easily combinable. The severe planning of his journey only started a few months ago. Hopefully, things will work out, and you can see me on YouTube while I build more videos living the van life..
Dream big and chase your dreams – that is really important
Jan van den Berg
In the beginning, Jan’s family was uttermost supportive. When it became more of a reality to starting his journey, his little sister kind of didn’t want him to go. He isn’t the only one in his family who has done it. Jan lives in quite an adventurous family. All and all is this Jan’s main reason to get out of bed. His sole purpose is to see the world and live carbon-neutral life: the van life.
Reasons why you should live the van life
By starting a YouTube channel regarding van life, he hopes to inspire other people to go, just like him, and explore the world while being accessible.
David Attenborough
Jan speaks enthusiastically about David Attenborough, who is most recognized for his nature films. Attenborough’s life started as a biologist. His motives and work truly inspired Jan to be better for the planet at quite a young age.
It started while he was browsing on Netflix. One of Attenborough’s movies came on his path. He did already know David Attenborough and his work quite well. The videos focus on a single region at a time: the ocean, the artics, or the jungle. At the end of each show, Attenborough and his team show the impact and what has changed in the last 50 years, and what we can do to make that better or improve it. For those who prefer reading, the book ‘a life on our planet‘ by David Attenborough is a recommendation.
Starting the van life journey
The van life journey does have to wait for a couple of years. First, he needs to make money for his hopefully endless journey. Therefore, he will work for a couple of years but with a maximum of 5 years. According to Jan, you need to think big but start small. For instance, divide it into smaller steps.
Jan is quite a social person. It is essential to have an end goal in mind where you can work to give you a purpose in life. He will first rent a van and see if it is true. It does feel like destiny, but it is never too bad to play on safety first. This will also give him more energy after he experiences this life. And yes, it might become lonely. Luckily a couple of friends will get over for approximately two weeks. Nevertheless, he has a fantastic solution: a shelter dog to come along with him for the remaining time. How awesome would it be to give a dog a good and adventurous life?
Helping the environment
While living the van life, Jan hopes to become fully carbon-neutral. He wants to plant trees to aid some local organizations—a big man with a small but good impact. Right now, he isn’t making much pollution. According to Jan, it is sad to know that we are destroying our world. So why not help the world while exploring while you are at it?
Friendship is important
Having friends you can trust can help you in a down phase. He also likes going for a walk to a nature park whenever he feels down. He takes some time to consider if his life goal is still his life goal. Luckily, in the end, it always feels like it is. If you want to feel better, reflect on how you have come to this state. For instance, how did it happen, and how can you ensure it doesn’t happen again that often?
To what extent are you experiencing the Sine Wave Syndrome in your daily life? It would be wonderful to hear your thoughts on this podcast. Feel free to send me an email or join the discussion below. Don’t hesitate to ask questions you would love to have answered or discussed during the podcast. You can also just say hi. Whatever feels most comfortable.